


If he came home

by TricksterMegido



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: critical role - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 14:58:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19087378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TricksterMegido/pseuds/TricksterMegido
Summary: I kinda had a random idea recently about if Molly were to come back. Technically there’s minor spoilers from episode 51 and up so be warned!





	If he came home

They kept seeing him, in the streets, the stores, the square even once in the ghost lands..but was he truly there?

Mollymauk has been gone for a while, the thought of him returning to them had been a fleeting idea, one the group wasn’t keen on keeping in mind. The idea was eventually scrapped and pushed onto the back burner. 

No one comes back from death 

Beauregard notes at one point during a conversation that he, in fact, did come back once. Who says he couldn’t again? Oddly the hope of their beloved friend returning only churned emotions long thought pushed back. How much they wanted him to return home to them, was immense. But it couldn’t be done. 

Essek heard them one day, as jester and caduceus tended to the gardens, Yasha trained with Beauregard and nott spent time with her husband. Fjord and Caleb, who essek originally came to see, we’re talking about him. Rather mentioned him, but it made them laugh, even if it was a sorrowful one. 

“Out of curiosity” Essek spoke up one day during a study session with Caleb, the house mostly quiet since everyone was either outside or resting, besides caduceus who was cooking dinner, a wonderful smell of cooking veggies and possibly some kind of meat substitute for the others filled the air “who is this Mollymauk you’ve mentioned? Friend or family?” 

“Ja..friend. We lost him in battle against a group of mercenaries, to speak of them kindly.” 

“I see. Did you have the Luxon at the time?” He hummed curiously, closing his tome allowing it to puff away. 

“Well..ja we did but, why?”

“Just curious. Next time, tell our queen of him, you never know” he grins, tapping the desk “keep studying what I taught you” 

Caleb hadn’t had a moment to answer, before he was gone. 

Sometimes, doing great things will bring forth rewards, but to expect them each time will only drag you down when such a thing is not given. To not expect keeps your hopes from being taken or destroyed. Caleb thought about this as they stood in the throne room of the bright queen, few from her court, including essek, stood with her as the group told her about the recent mission and what information they had luckily gathered. 

That’s when he suddenly spoke 

“Your highness if I may-“ 

Fjord, who had just barely finished his sentence of gold for payment, fell silent, the others seemingly just as confused watching Caleb take a step closer 

“Out of curiosity..what are the odds of someone being reborn from..the luxon as they were in the last life?” 

The queen straightened her stature, oddly curious herself at the strange question 

‘The chances are slim. Being reborn from the beacon as you were in the last life does not always happen as you may perceive. Why do you ask?’

“Well I..” he glanced to essek, then to his friends. Was it worth asking? “I was..just curious. Came up in a thought the other day is all” 

‘I see..’ the bright queen had glanced to essik, who seemed surprised that Caleb didn’t ask what he wanted. 

It wasn’t until the mighty nein left that she spoke again 

‘What was he going to ask’ 

“They lost a friend” essek made his tome appear, flipping through the pages until he pulled a small piece of paper from between the pages “a purple tiefling with many tattoos and a rather..interesting personality. They lost him when they had the beacon, just before they came here” 

‘Interesting’ she mused, calling for one of her other members, speaking to them softly before dismissing them 

Outside, Caleb had grown silent

“So..what were you gonna ask?” Beauregard came up beside Caleb, just as curious as the others 

“Nothing” 

“Caleb we know your lying tell us!” Jester grinned, practically bouncing with each footstep 

“Nothing jester” 

“Caleb you don’t need to tell us” Yasha now stood to his left, having of set a hand on his shoulder as they approached the house “especially if it makes you uncomfortable” 

The others seem to nod, each making there way past the gate and up the stairs to the house, except Caleb who remained where he was 

“I..” 

Everyone stopped, looking back now 

“I was going to ask about Molly.” 

Silence

“essek brought to my attention that the possibility of Molly being brought back could be real. We had the beacon, his soul could be there and we just don’t know it yet-“ he fell silent, glancing down to the floor “I..it was stupid” 

“It isn’t” Yasha sighs, crossing her arms “I have thought the same but I didn’t want to dwell on something I had no power in, nor anyone else in the group.”

Caduceus made his way back down the stairs, setting a hand on Caleb’s shoulder this time “it’s alright mr Caleb. Life is a mystery, how it works will never be a straight answer. It could happen in anyway, or go any direction. You just gotta be able to catch it.” He smiles gently, looking to the others “come, I’ll make some tea to calm everyone” 

Caleb nodded this time, following caduceus up the stairs to the group, to his family. 

It wasn’t but a few weeks later that they saw him. 

A flash of purple skin and a red cloak with odd designs on it. Jester was the first to notice, and ran to catch up but did not find them, only a woman in a pomegranate colored dress who was walking about with someone. 

Next was nott, she had almost caught up too if someone hadn’t stepped in front of her causing her to loose sight 

Then beau, she swore she saw him as they left the pub. But when she turned the corner to an alley with a dead end there was no one. It was aggravating, leaving Beauregard to practically break down, slamming her fists into the wall of the tavern only to receive damage from the stone exterior instead. Yasha and fjord having to talk her down from her high and get her to leave the alley way. Broken knuckles, broken hearted, with tears that threatened to slip down her cheeks each step of the way home. 

Caleb and caduceus saw him at the same time. Both deciding to chase him, through the streets, last vendors and customers alike but still nothing. Caleb thought he had gone left towards the library while caduceus mentioned seeing him go right, towards the queens home. 

Fjord didn’t follow him when noticing the shadow of the purple tiefling. Awestruck or confused he wasn’t sure, but did not tell the group about the encounter. What has come of the last few weeks but anger, frustration and disappointment. They didn’t need anymore of it. 

Yasha, was the hardest. He was there, next to her for a moment, his laugh echoing through the streets causing her to run off from the group who called for her in confusion. When he dipped into an alley she followed. If he vanished in the crowd she kept going, until she found herself turned around in the center of a plaza, where the purple tiefling was no where to be found. His laugh continuing to echo not just in the plaza, but in her mind the more she thought about it. Beau helped her this time, as she did for her before. Having of set a hand against the small of yasha’s back, Beauregard softly spoke to her for a few moments, about something different. Something not Molly related, and she appreciated that. 

The group, didn’t leave home for a while after that. Being in public meant possibly seeing Mollymauk and no one wanted to. Was he haunting them? Why now all of the sudden are they seeing him everywhere they go? 

It was unbearable. 

A knock to the door caught their attention one night, caduceus had just finished cooking, the others all outside setting up a table to eat dinner outside under the lit up tree in their yard when it happened. Cad answered the door, not surprised to see essek standing before him 

“Hello mr essek, how can I help you?”

“Well I gave a small gift for you all, from the queen herself.” 

“Oh, well of course come in” caduceus stepped aside. That’s when he noticed. 

Opening the door to the back yard essek stepped out, catching the attention to everyone to no surprise 

“Hello everyone. The queen and her council have worked tirelessly as of late, in order to give you all a gift. One that with hope, you all appreciate considering how truly difficult it was to do” 

From behind, caduceus stepped around essek, smiling to everyone with a knowing look, but it seemed to only make everyone more tense. 

That’s when they saw him 

As essek stepped aside, silent now, a tall, purple tiefling with strange tattoos, jewelry draped on his horns and a simple, yet still Kryn styled blouse and pants, was Mollymauk tea leaf. A sly grin was curved on his lips when he saw his friends standing before him, but still a long silence filled the space between them. 

Beauregard steppes close first, as if exploring the space around him to make sure he was real, that he wasn’t some fucked up illusion like some kind of joke, that he was real. Not dead buried in the ground on glory run road. 

“Are you..you better be fucking real tealeaf” she finally spoke, a choked sob clearly held back as she did, suddenly moving to hug him tightly causing him to softly chuckle and hug her back 

“I am..I’m here” 

The others followed. Jester practically sobbing when she reached Molly, stuttering and trying to speak to tell him how happy she was, that she couldn’t believe he was back. He was home. Yasha, though still generally stoic was crying as well, seeming to wait until jester moved to hug the tiefling to her chest, not speaking, but he knew exactly how she was feeling. What she wanted to say but just couldn’t find the words to do so. 

The moment was long, tearful but happily taken. Fjord and the others couldn’t thank him enough, jester and nott eventually sitting Molly down to catch him up on everything that’s happened, everything he has missed. 

“Why did you do it” 

essek glanced to the human, a chuckle leaving him “why not? You would not tell her so I did instead.” 

“But why?” 

“Because it wasn’t complete. Your family I mean. Loosing one can damage what you had, even if you gained someone in the process. The sadness you expressed and what I gathered from your friends is that he was more then just a simple friend. He acted like part of the glue that held you together. Though you’ve all taken such role as the glue that binds you together now, you were still missing a piece. I’m simply finishing the puzzle for you Caleb. Easy as that.” Essek glances to Caleb, who gave him a small understanding nod, before joining the others. 

He was right, how could he be upset about this? Something thought impossible had suddenly become possible. And he wasn’t going to let that slip. 

They were complete again. Their family, whole. 

He was home


End file.
